The Sensex opened with a positive gap of 20 points at 5,246. Gains in select stocks, notably HLL and ITC, saw the index remain optimistic in the opening deals, and touch a high of 5,263.
The markets, however, slipped in early noon deals, but dropped significantly towards the closing hours as unabated selling pressure across the board dragged the index below the 5,200 levels to a low of 5,125.
The Sensex finally snapped the four-day winning streak with a huge loss of 94 points at 5,132.
The Nifty shed 1.76% (29 points) to close at 1,646.
Infosys remained weak through the session, and slumped 3% (Rs 147) to Rs 4,912. While Wipro dropped 4% (Rs 63) to Rs 1,507, Satyam shed 5% (Rs 19) to Rs 330
Reliance succumbed to losses on heavy selling pressure, and declined 3% (Rs 15) to Rs 493. HLL held gains on strong buying support and advanced 3% (Rs 6) to Rs 187.
ITC closed up a per cent (Rs 6) at Rs 908.
BHEL lost nearly 3% (Rs 12) to Rs 449. While SBI dipped 2% (Rs 10) to Rs 460, HPCL closed down a per cent (Rs 6) at Rs 389.
Grasim at Rs 866 (down Rs 16 or 2%), Gujarat Ambuja at Rs 282 (down Rs 10 or 3%) and ACC at Rs 226 (down Rs 6 or 2%) ended deep into the red. L&T, however, was up Rs 2 at Rs 411.
Tata Motors slumped 3% (Rs 11) to Rs 414. While Hero Honda slipped 2% (Rs 9) to Rs 381, Bajaj closed down a per cent (Rs 11) at Rs 998.
Dr. Reddy's dropped 2% (Rs 23) to Rs 1,305. While Ranbaxy, too, lost 2% (Rs 21) to Rs 1,063, Cipla was down Rs 6 at Rs 1,202.